Kindle as a book revision tool

30 Aug

There’s an old cliche in this business: there are no great writers, only great rewriters. Something to be said for it too. I’m sure there are people who finish their first draft, take a look at it, think ‘perfect’ and then send it off to an agent or publisher. But not many.

For me revision represents the final five per cent of a book that can make the difference between success and failure. But the process itself is not straightforward and can go awry, just as writing the original may fall apart so easily.

There are two approaches to revising your work, both essential, both complementary. The first is the obvious one: revision from the author’s point of view. This entails going through your manuscript word by word, line by line, looking at it from a micro and macro point of view, close up on the page and at a distance from an overall point of view.

The second is the trickier one: trying to see your novel as a remote, dispassionate reader, page by page, not thinking for a moment about changing every literal you come across, simply making a note it’s there and needs addressing later. This is where the Kindle (and yes, let me say it before the fanbois squawk, I’m sure the iPad too) has a role. Continue reading →

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Kindle for author research

28 Aug

Research is important to me. A lot of that is going to be physical — going places, taking photographs, reading paper books that simply aren’t in the digital domain. But a lot of it can move over to a digital book if the right tools are there. And boy is the Kindle the right one for that in many ways.

Let’s take a look at managing some research on the same document — the complete works of Shakespeare — on three different machines using Kindle and Kindle apps.

Continue reading →

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Kindle for beginners (like me)

28 Aug

My new Kindle 3 arrived this morning. Why did I order one? Few reasons really, and those uppermost are probably not the ones in the mind of most Kindle buyers. I write books for a living so I need to know what’s going on in the marketplace.

Also I have an unfulfilled desire for something that will let me research and revise my work more efficiently than ink and paper. Not that they have no place, in revision or the final product.

The key attraction of Kindle for lots of people — as a way of moving from printed books to digital ones — isn’t mine right now. I want to use this primarily as a writing and research tool and will write about how it does that a little later.

But first let me try and explain what I understand Kindle to be, because it’s not what I thought. A lot of people are somewhat baffled by the concept, not least because it isn’t that familiar piece of hardware, or at least not entirely. There’s lots to say here and I won’t manage it in one go. Also I’m new to this thing and will doubtless get some stuff wrong — if so please correct me in the comments. Continue reading →

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A little editing time with the Dell Streak

26 Aug

I hate to think of the money I’ve spent trying to find the right mobile gadget to let me deal with words on the move. Many, many years ago I owned a battery-driven, memory tape taking Sinclair QL which wasn’t half bad for 1984 actually. I had a Newton, naturally, which was probably a step back. And a Windows CE mini laptop. And doubtless things I’ve forgotten.

None ever worked that well if I’m honest. And here we are in 2010, with the web everywhere, smart phones, dead cheap computers, tech coming out of our ears. And still no one’s perfected the trick of making a simple mobile device, smaller than a laptop, that will let you write, read and edit on the move.

Except this is the year of the tablet. The iPad might, I thought, be the answer, but it wasn’t though it seems that, thanks to the work of third party companies, not Apple, things are getting better. Don’t care. As long as you have to call up that dread monster iTunes just to transfer a file you can count me out.

But other solutions are promised, a flood of them. Here’s one of the first, the Dell Streak which, depending how you look at it, is either a small tablet or a big phone. This runs on Google’s Android platform, and so can usea stack of different downloadable apps, from games to satnav and all that social media stuff that mainly leaves me cold. What I want to know is simple: can it help me manage writing tasks on the move? Is this a good step closer to the working mobile gadget – not some toy – I’ve been craving as a writer and reader for years?

Continue reading →

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An extra gig for the Canterbury Festival…

25 Aug

I’m pleased to tell you there’s going to be an extra appearance at this year’s Canterbury Festival. In conjunction with New Writing South, East Kent Live Lit and Waterstones, I’ll be one of a lovely panel discussing the publishing industry during the Canterbury Festival.

The event is at Waterstones, 20-21 St. Margarets Street, Canterbury, 6.30pm to 7.45 pm on Friday October 22. I’ll be on a panel with my own agent, Carole Blake, Martin Latham of Waterstones, and publishing professional Clare Christian, with Chris Taylor, the director of New Writing South in the chair. Tickets £8. Details from New Writing South and Live Lit Network.

I will, in Carole’s honour, attempt to wear smart shoes. Nothing else is guaranteed. I think you’ll find the splendid Sarah Waters follows us on the stage so you may wish to make a night of it — I know we will.

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